From The Herald in Rock Hill, S.C., McClatchy Studios and iHeartRadio comes an investigation into the life and mysterious death of the only Super Bowl champion from Lancaster, S.C. At one time, Jim Duncan was a star on the rise for the Baltimore Colts; the NFL’s leading kickoff returner in 1970; and a hero of that year’s title game. Then, two years later, authorities say Duncan, who was Black, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound inside his hometown police station. Many Black people alive in Lancaster at the time didn't believe the official account of the death. We examine the questions they had. New episodes coming each Tuesday, through March 16.

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Jim Duncan was one of eight children, growing up in a shotgun house on the poorest side of a small South Carolina milltown. There in Lancaster, the public facilities were segregated—but one of the few spots Blacks and whites both called home was the lone football field in town, shared by the Black and white high schools. There, Duncan began carving a path out of poverty for himself, and his family.

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Jim Duncan's rare athleticism made him a star on the Maryland State College football team, where he played offense, defense and special teams. In 1968, he was a fourth-round draft pick by the Baltimore Colts, and soon became the leading kickoff return man in the NFL, enjoying a level of celebrity and status that friends and family back in Lancaster could hardly imagine.

New episodes coming each Tuesday, through March 16.

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